At First Glance

Chapter 1 : She Believed Him

2 years ago...

"I'm so sick of watching the news, this virus is everywhere." Eve huffed.

It had been 6 months since the corona virus had hit the UK and Eve, like everyone, was getting fed up of hearing about it.

"I'm going to put a movie on." She announced to her husband Niko. He was a strange looking man, with a thick bushy moustache living on his upper lip, and hair that was always on the worse side of looking like it needed to be cut. His face was always twisted into a guilty expression, making him look constantly suspicious.

"Good idea my darling." He said. "why don't you go get some snacks and maybe some red wine? I want to choose the movie today."

As Eve walked out of the lounge and towards the kitchen, Niko smirked to himself and pulled a small recording device from his pocket. Plugging it into the back of the TV, he set it to record all the news shows for the next week. Hearing eves footsteps getting louder again, he grabbed the remote and switched the telly onto Netflix, quickly choosing The Breakfast Club and settling into his ugly brown armchair.

When Eve returned, she glanced at the screen and then grinned at Niko.

"my favourite movie." She handed Niko his popcorn and a large glass of Cabernet Sauvignon and plopped down onto the plush sofa, pulling a soft green blanket around her shoulders and silently sipping her wine.

The present

Eve woke with a start to the sound of her front door opening. She had been napping on the sofa, snuggled up in her green blanket. She listened as all 6 of Niko's locks we undone. There was silence for a moment and Eve held her breath.

"Honey! I'm home!" Called Niko in a cheery voice.

Eve let go of her breath and walked to the front door to greet her husband.

As she leaned forward to kiss Niko's cheek, the tall man stepped back.

"not yet Eve, you know the rules." His voice had that stern undertone that had been building up over the past two years. It frightened Eve a little bit.

"oh right, yes, sorry, of course." She rushed out an anxious apology as she watched her husband climb the stairs to go and change out of his work clothes. He had told Eve that his work was important, that he was a key worker, and Eve believed him.

"I want to go outside." Eve says as Niko reaches the bottom of the stairs.

He just scoffs at her and walks into the kitchen.

"you know you can't do that Eve, don't be stupid." He retorts.

"But why?" she whines.

Eve hadn't left the house in over 2 years.

Niko lets her watch the news once a week to learn more about the ever-growing global crisis. Over the past two years she's learnt from Niko that everyone on their road has died from corona virus. This isn't entirely true, half of them died yes, but the other half moved away. These houses were all empty and nobody ever walked down their road which made it easy for Niko to keep Eve inside. The less she knew, the better.

Niko sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"How many times do I have to tell you Eve? You're high risk! If you leave this fucking house, you will die!" He shouted the last part which shook Eve to her core. She hated the way he spoke to her now, it made her miserable, but she would never tell him this because he was just trying to protect her, right?

Eve went upstairs and laid down on her bed. She allowed herself to cast her mind back to memories Niko had told her to forget.

Eve missed her work. she missed walking into her office with her camera in her satchel. she missed watching families put on big cheesy grins in her photography studio, and the way parents' faces lit up upon seeing the photos of their new-born babies. she missed taking photos. but most of all she missed her best friend and studio partner Bill, she hasn't spoken for him for almost a year, since Niko took her phone away.

He had told her it was for the best; phones were corrupt and would ruin their relationship. That she'd believe what she heard on social media instead of what he's telling her. That everyone around the UK is giving up their phones. And she had been weakened, so she believed him.

She started to believe everything her told her, whether it was his information on the deadly virus, or the degrading insults he effortlessly threw at her. She forgave him each time, putting it down to his short temper or him having a stressful day being a key worker.

Niko couldn't believe how long his plan had been working. He had been secretly altering old news shows on his computer from a year ago, changing dates and numbers, using voice changers and other tools to change what the newsreaders were saying. He created fake radio broadcasts and newspaper articles, he tried as hard as he possibly could to keep Eve away from the outside world. The pandemic was over but he couldn't lose her, nobody else could have her, Eve belonged to him. He needed her to be safe, that's what he told her.

"I'll always keep you safe."

That's what he believes.

A/N : follow me on twitter 'PinkVillanelle'  <3